Here’s our second Word of the Year for 2026—the Collins Dictionary has chosen ‘mogging’ as its candidate.
(You’ll remember Dictionary.com has already picked ‘maxxing’ as its Word of the Year.)
The Collins lexicographers define ‘mogging’ as ‘the act of outshining or outperforming someone or something.’
The Urban Dictionary also has an entry on ‘mogging’ and they say it means making someone else look little compared to you.
According to the Collins this word ‘mogging’ is turning a noun into a verb.
The noun is ‘mog’ which they say means ‘a dominant male.’
I don’t know about you, but this looks to me more like a foreign language than the English I grew up with!
I suspect these are terms that almost no one over the age of 25 has ever heard of.
Anyway, back to ‘mog’ as a peculiar nickname for a dominant male.
This is turn is said to come from an acronym AMOG and (there are lots of steps in the process, folks) AMOG uses the initials of the phrase ‘Alpha Male Of the Group.’
That certainly sounds like the infantile competitiveness you might find in a group of under-25s.
The Collins people say: ‘This fast-growing slang word is increasingly used by both Gen Z and Gen Alpha in a playful and ironic way when someone is upstaged. "Mogging" has firmly entered mainstream language this year, becoming widely used online and as part of everyday conversation among younger generations.’
And copywriter Rachel Quin says, ‘Basically, if someone or something has made you look a bit rubbish by comparison, you’ve been mogged.’
Tonight I will join John Stanley for 'The Word Clinic' on 2GB, 4BC, 2CC and the Tapt Radio Network -- right after the 10pm news (9pm in Queensland).
The latest issue of Australian Geographic is in newsagents now -- with a photo of a beautiful Australian parrot on the front cover. Inside, along with stunning pictures and great articles, are my two small columns on 'Placenames' and 'Ozwords.'
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BY THE WAY...
If you'd like to see my A-Z list of Aussie slang, you'll find it here in the Australian Geographic website -- A-Z list of Aussie slang. Here’s the link: The A-Z of Aussie slang - Australian Geographic
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